Wiring device for optical fiber

ABSTRACT

There is provided wiring device for optical fiber capable of increasing the performance of construction work. A cover  2  is disposed in an aperture formed at front surface of the plug receptacle main body  1 , the upper end thereof is rotatably supported to the plug receptacle main body  1 , and a receptacle  3  is attached to the rear surface side of the cover  2 . The receptacle  3  has a plug connection hole facing an outer surface side of a building at least at a used state and a plug connection portion into which a first optical-fiber plug being attached to the optical fiber cable wired to the inside of the building is inserted and connected, and optically connects the first optical fiber being connected to the plug connection portion and a second optical-fiber plug inserted from the outer surface side of the building through the plug connection hole. A notch  14  for inserting the first optical-fiber plug is formed at a sidewall  11   b  of the plug receptacle main body  1  which is located in the inserting direction of the optical fiber plug inserted and connected to the plug connection portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wiring device for optical fiber,which uses an optical plug receptacle for connecting an optical fibercable introduced inside the wall or under the floor of a building.

(b) Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a wiring device for optical fiber in which an opticalfiber cable wired inside a building is introduced into a flush box laidin the wall surface of the building and an optical plug receptacle beingattached to a flush box using a mounting frame standardized based on aflush type wiring device is used is disclosed (for example, see JapaneseExamined Patent Application Publication No. 2,793,183).

In the above-mentioned wiring device for optical fiber, there is aproblem in that, even though the optical fiber plug is not connected tothe optical plug receptacle from the outer surface side of the building,the optical plug receptacle is projected forward more than the frontsurface of the wiring device, which causes an obstruction.

There is also conventionally disclosed the wiring device for opticalfiber, comprising: a rotatable retainer with the optical plug receptacleattached at the rear surface side being disposed at an aperture formedat the front surface of the plug receptacle main body such that theoptical plug receptacle can be received in the plug receptacle main bodyat non-used state, wherein the rotatable retainer is rotatably supportedto the plug receptacle main body so as to keep a projected state inwhich the rotatable retainer is projected toward the front side from thefront surface of the plug receptacle main body to face a plug connectionhole toward outward of the plug receptacle main body or a received statein which a plug connection hole is received in the plug receptacle mainbody; pressing means for normally pressing the rotatable retainer towardthe front side; retaining means for retaining the received state; and apop-up mechanism for projecting the optical plug receptacle toward thefront side when the maintenance of the retaining means is released.

The optical plug receptacle used in the above-mentioned wiring devicefor optical fiber comprises a plug connection portion into which anoptical fiber plug attached to an optical fiber cable wired to theinside of a building is inserted and connected. The optical plugreceptacle optically connects an optical fiber plug inserted through aplug connection hole from the outer surface side of a building and theoptical fiber plug connected to the plug connection portion. However,the optical plug receptacle is attached to the rear side of therotatable retainer such that, when the plug receptacle main body isattached to a attaching surface in the normal direction, the plugconnection hole faces the downward direction (that is, the direction ofinsertion into the plug connection hole is nearly in parallel with thefront surface of the plug receptacle main body). As a result, when theoptical fiber plug is inserted into and connected to the plug connectionportion of the optical plug receptacle, this operation is obstructed bythe transverse wall of the plug receptacle main body, which it isimpossible to carry out a connection work of the optical fiber plug,thereby leads to deterioration in the performance of construction work.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is contrived to solve the above problems, and itis an object of the present invention to provide wiring device foroptical fiber capable of improving the performance of construction work.

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided wiringdevice for optical fiber, the wiring device comprises a plug receptaclemain body which is mounted on a mounting opening opened in the outersurface of a building; and a receptacle for optical fiber attached tothe plug receptacle main body and having a plug connection hole facingan outer surface side of the building at least at a used state and aplug connection portion into which a first optical-fiber plug attachedto the optical fiber cable wired to the inside of a building is insertedand connected, and optically connecting the first optical-fiber plugconnected to the plug connection portion and the second optical-fiberplug inserted from the outer surface side of the building through theplug connection hole, wherein a notch for inserting the first opticalfiber plug is formed at a portion of the plug receptacle main body whichis located in the inserting direction of the first optical fiber pluginserted and connected to the plug connection portion.

In a second aspect according to the first aspect of the invention, thereceptacle for optical fiber is attached to the plug receptacle mainbody, with an insertion hole of the plug connection portion beingbackwardly inclined with respect to the front surface of the plugreceptacle main body.

In a third aspect according to the first aspect of the invention, thewiring device for optical fiber further comprise a rotatable retainer towhich the receptacle for optical fiber is attached at the rear surfaceside thereof and rotatably supported to the plug receptacle main body soas to keep in either of a projected state forwardly projecting from thefront part of the plug receptacle main body to face the plug connectionhole toward the outside of a building or a received state in which theplug connection hole is received in the plug receptacle main body; and apop-up mechanism including pressing means for pressing the rotatableretainer to the front side of the plug receptacle main body andretaining means for retaining the received state, and projecting therotatable retainer to the front side of the plug receptacle main body bythe pressing force of the pressing means when the retaining by theretaining means is released.

In a fourth aspect according to the third aspect of the invention, apressing member for interposing and retaining the receptacle for opticalfiber between the rear surface of the rotatable retainer and thepressing member is attached to the rotatable retainer, and a hookingportion hooked to a hooked portion disposed at the plug receptacle mainbody at the projected state is provided to the pressing member.

In a fifth aspect according to the fourth aspect of the invention, thepressing member is made of a metal material.

In a sixth aspect according to any one of the aspects 3 to 5 of theinvention, the rotatable retainer includes a first covering portion towhich the receptacle for optical fiber is attached at the rear surfaceside thereof and whose one end is rotatably supported to the plugreceptacle main body, and second covering portions being protruded fromthe rear side of the first covering portion and each covering both theleft and right sides of the receptacle for optical fiber, the rotatableretainer further including: an engagement claws, which is formed on theoutside surfaces of the second covering portions, regulating the forwardmovement of the first covering portion on engaging with claws formed inthe plug receptacle main body at the projected state; and a reinforcingmember contacting the rear side portions of the second covering portionsand supporting the second covering portions.

In a seventh aspect according to the sixth aspect of the invention, thereinforcing member is made of a metallic material.

In an eighth aspect according to any one of aspects 3 to 5, therotatable retainer includes a first covering portion to which thereceptacle for optical fiber is attached at the rear surface sidethereof and whose one end is rotatably supported to the plug receptaclemain body, and second covering portions being protruded from the rearside of the first covering portion and each covering both the left andright sides of the receptacle for optical fiber, the rotatable retainerfurther including: an engagement claws, which is formed on the out-sidesurfaces of the second covering portions, regulating the forwardmovement of the first covering portion on engaging with claws formed inthe plug receptacle main body at the projected state; and contactsurfaces between the engagement claws and the claws formed in the plugreceptacle main body to be engaged with the engagement claw are inclinedin the direction engaged each other at the time of moving forwardly therotatable retainer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating wiring device for anoptical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention asseen from a front side;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating wiring device for anoptical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention asseen from a rear side;

FIGS. 3A to 3D are views illustrating a state in which the wiring devicefor an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present inventionare received, in which FIG. 3A is a front view, FIG. 3B is a side view,FIG. 3C is a bottom view, and FIG. 3D is a sectional view taken along aline B-B;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are an external perspective views illustrating wiringdevice for an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the presentinvention as seen from a front side;

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view illustrating wiring device for anoptical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention asseen from a rear side;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 3Aillustrating wiring device for an optical fiber according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are views illustrating a projected state of wiring devicefor an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, in which FIG. 7A is a front view, FIG. 7B is a sectional viewtaken along a line C-C, and FIG. 7C is a sectional view taken along aline D-D;

FIGS. 8A to 8D are views illustrating a state in which a retainer ofwiring device for an optical fiber according to an embodiment of thepresent invention is detached, in which 8A is a right side view, 8B is asectional view of the right side, 8C is a bottom side view, and 8D is asectional view of the bottom side;

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view illustrating a state in which aretainer of wiring device for an optical fiber according to anembodiment of the present invention is detached as seen from a rearside;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are views illustrating wiring device for an opticalfiber according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG.10A is a sectional view taken along a line A-A with a part of FIG. 3Aomitted; and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of ‘F’ section of FIG. 7B illustratingwiring device for an optical fiber according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the FIGS. 1 to 11 such that the embodiments canbe easily put into practice by those skilled in the art. However, sincethe present invention can be embodied in various forms, the presentinvention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

Further, in the detailed description of the present invention to bedescribed below, if it is not specifically mentioned, in case that theleft, right, top and bottom directions are prescribed, the front face ofFIG. 3A becomes the front side. Therefore, the right edge of FIG. 3Bbecomes the rear end.

As shown FIGS. 1 to 3, a wiring device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention comprises a aperture 81 having the same dimensions asa mounting frame to which three wiring devices of one module having adiagonal shape standardized according to JIS is attached, a metallicmounting frame 8 being fixed into an mounting opening opened at an outersurface of a building, a plug receptacle main body 1 having thedimensions of three modules and being attached to the mounting frame 8,a rotatable cover 2 (rotatable retainer) which is rotatably supported soas to open and close an opening formed at the front surface of the plugreceptacle main body 1, a receptacle 3 for optical fiber (hereinafter,refer to a receptacle) being attached to the rear surface side of thecover 2, a pressing plate 4 fixing the receptacle 3 to the cover 2, awinder 5 winding an optical fiber cable to which an optical fiber plugbeing connected to the receptacle 3 is attached, a retainer 6 receivingand retaining the winder 5, and a decoration cover 7 being attached tothe front side of the plug receptacle main body 1.

In the plug receptacle main body 1, four sides in the left, right, top,and bottom directions thereof are surrounded by the side walls 11 a, 11a, 11 b and 11 c, the nearly half of upper portion thereof is opened inthe forward and backward directions, and the nearly half of lowerportion thereof is made of a synthetic-resin molded body with the rearpart 11 d integrally formed. Further, on the rear-side outer surfaces ofthe left and right side walls 11 a, 11 a, two hooking protrusions 12 abeing hooked to a hooking frame piece 88 of the mounting frame 8 to bedescribed below protrude from the both upper and lower sides,respectively, and on front-side outer surfaces of the top and bottomside walls 11 b and 11 c, two hooking recesses 12 c to which elastichooking pieces 73 of a decoration cover 7 to be described below arehooked are formed at both left and right sides, respectively. Further,on the front-side portion of the topside wall 11 b, a bearing unit 13for rotatably supporting the cover 2 is formed, and on the rear-sideportion of the topside wall 11 b, a notch 14 into which an optical fiberplug being connected to the receptacle 3 is inserted is formed (refer toFIG. 9).

Further, a cross piece of a protrusion piece 15 a having an ‘L’ shapedsection to be erected from the lower-side edge of the rear part 11 dtoward the front side is connected to the front-side edge of the lowerside wall 11 c. A stepped portion 15 b is formed on the front portion ofthe protrusion piece 15 a, in which the front portion of the protrudingpiece 15 a is lower than the rear portion of the protruding piece 15 aby one step due to the stepped portion 15 b. Further, on both left andright sides of the protruding piece 15 a, two slits 15 c opened towardthe front-end side are formed in the front-rear direction to the rearpart 11 d. A flexible piece 15 is inserted into the slits 15 c, 15 csuch that the rear edge thereof is connected to the rear part 11 d andthe front edge thereof is flexible to the thickness direction (verticaldirection). Further, a hooking hole 15 d is formed in the front-sideportion of the flexible piece 15 so as to penetrate the flexible piece15 in the thickness direction along the stepped portion 15 b and to hookto/detachable from a hooking protrusion piece 25 protruding to a centerportion of the lower end portion of the cover 2 or a hooking protrusionpiece 44 protruding to a center portion of a lower end of the pressingplate 4.

Further, ribs 16 a, 16 a are formed on inner side surfaces of the leftand right side walls 11 a, 11 a from connection portions between the topside wall 11 b and the left and right side walls 11 a to nearly centerportions in a vertical direction so as to contact the rear edges of bothside portions of the cover 2 at the time of receiving the cover 2, andeach rib 16 a has an inclined surface which backwardly retracts from thetop portion to the bottom portion thereof. Further, on each lowerportion of inner side surfaces of the left and right side walls 11 a, 11a, a plurality of ribs 16 b protruding from the front edge of the sidewall 11 a toward the rear side is formed so as to engage with engagingclaws 21 disposed at both side portions 21 of the cover 2 when the cover2 is projected to the front side.

Further, supporting portions 17 for supporting a retainer 6 areintegrally formed at both left and right sides on the upper-end of rearsurface of the rear part 11 d. Each supporting portion 17 has asupporting groove 17 a whose side surface opposing each other and lowerend is opened. The retainer 6 is detachably attached to the rear surfaceof the rear part 11 d by the holding groove 17 a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover 2 is made of a synthetic-resinmolded body in which the front part (a first covering portion) 20 havinga rectangular shape, side parts (second covering portions) 21,21extending from both edges of the first covering portion to the rear sidealong the rotational direction of the front part 20 and having afan-like shape, leg pieces 21 c, 21 c protruding from the rear edges ofthe lower portion of the second covering portions 21,21 to the rear sideand shaft supporting portions 22,22 formed so as to upwardly protrude onboth sides of an upper end of the front portion 20 are integrallyformed. The cover 2 constitutes a reception unit for receiving andretaining the receptacle 3 at a space between the rear surface of thefirst covering portion 20 and each second covering portion 21,21. Theshaft supporting portions 22,22 has a cylindrical shape, the shaftdirection thereof is approximately in parallel with a left-rightdirection, and shaft holes 22 a into which both ends of a rotationalshaft are inserted are formed in the manner of penetration at eachcenter portion of the shaft supporting portions 22. After a springmember 9 is received in a bearing recess 13 a of the bearing unit 13 ofthe plug receptacle main body 1 and the bearing unit 13 of the plugreceptacle main body 1 is interposed between the shaft supportingportions 22,22, the rotation shaft 10 is inserted into a shaft hole 11 eformed in the one side wall 11 a of the plug receptacle main body 1, theshaft hole 22 a of the one shaft supporting portion 22, the bearingrecess 13 a of the bearing unit 13, the shaft hole 22 a of the othershaft supporting portion 22 and the shaft hole 11 e of the other sidewall 11 a in this order, so that the upper end of the cover 2 isrotatably supported with respect to the plug receptacle main body 1. Thespring member 9 always presses the lower end of the cover 2 onto thefront side. Further, a center portion of the spring member 9 is bent ina ‘U’ shape, and twisted portions 9 b, 9 b are formed at both ends ofthe spring member 9.

Further, a plurality of supporting ribs 23 contacting the front surfaceof a housing 30 of the receptacle 3 protrudes from the rear surface ofthe first covering portion 20 in parallel with the second coveringportions 21 between the second covering portions 21,21. Each supportingrib 23 is formed such that the protruded length thereof graduallyincreases as it goes to the upper side. Further, a stepped portion 23 ais formed at the lower portion of each supporting rib 23 in conformitywith the surface shape of the housing 30. Each engagement claw 21 a, 21a engaging with the ribs 16 b of the plug receptacle main body 1outwardly protrudes from the rear ends of the leg pieces 21 c, 21 c ofthe cover 2. Each penetrating hole 21 b into which a screw 24 for fixingthe pressing plate 4 is inserted is formed in the leg pieces 21 c.

The housing 30 of the receptacle 3 is comprised of a hollow member beingmade of a synthetic-resin molded body and having a rectangularparallelepiped shape. In the housing 30, an outer circumference surfaceof a front portion (which is a lower part at the time of attaching it tothe cover 2) side is protruded from an outer circumference surface ofthe rear portion (which is the upper part at the time of attaching it tothe cover 2) side. Further, an inside space of the housing 30 ispartitioned into a left and a right receiving chambers 32,32 by apartition wall 31. Here, the upper side portion of receiving chamber 32becomes a first plug connection portion to which a first optical-fiberplug 103 being attached to an optical fiber cable which is wired insideof building is connected, the lower side portion of receiving chamber 32become a second plug connection portion to which a second optical-fiberplug (not shown) being inserted through a lower side hole (plugconnection hole) of the housing from outer surface side of the buildingis connected, and a sleeve (not shown) for optically connecting the bothplugs by arranging and holding a ferrule of the optical fiber plug beingconnected to the first and second plug connection portions is disposedat an intermediate portion of each receiving chambers 32.

Processes of drawing and bending a metal plate form the pressing plate4. In the pressing plate 4, a contact piece 40 having a rectangularplate shape and contacting the rear surface of the housing 30 of thereceptacle 3, supporting pieces 41,41 backwardly protruding from boththe lower left and right edges of the contact piece 40, an inclinedpiece 42 downwardly protruding from the center of the lower side edge ofthe contact piece 40, and contact pieces 42 a, 42 a forwardly protrudingfrom both the left and right edges of the inclined piece 42 areintegrally formed. A tapped hole 43 into which the screw 24 is insertedis formed in an intermediate portion of each of supporting pieces 41,and the leading ends of the supporting pieces 41 extend to a positionopposing the rear surface of the rear end of the leg piece 21 c of thecover 2 (that is, the rear surface of the engagement claw 21 a).Further, the hooking protrusion piece 44 being hooked into the hookinghole 15 d of the flexible piece 15 downwardly protrudes from the centerof the lower side edge of the inclined piece 42.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the winder 5 has a winding body 50 being madeof a synthetic-resin molded body and having a flat cylindrical shape. Onthe outer circumferential surface of the winding body 50, a flange 51protruding in the radial direction from the entire circumference of therear end of the winding body 50 is integrally formed, and a flange 52protruding in the radial direction from the lower-side portion of anintermediate portion of the front-back direction is integrally formed.Further, protrusion pieces 53,53 which are in parallel with the outercircumferential surface of the winding body 50 are formed integrallywith the both left and right sides of the outer circumferential portionof the flange 52 toward the front side. A protrusion piece 54 forwardlyprotruding from the upper front edge of the winding body 50 is formedintegrally therewith. The protrusion piece 54 is formed such that thewidth thereof along the peripheral direction decreases as it goes to thefront side, and a pressing piece 55 which is bent in an ‘L’ shape inparalleled a leading end thereof with the protrusion piece 54 is formedintegrally with one side edge of the front-side portion of protrusionpiece 54 toward the outside. Further, drawing walls 56 a and 56 bprotruding from the connection portion with the protrusion piece 54 inthe outer circumferential direction up to an intermediate position inthe front-back direction are integrally formed on the upper-side ofouter circumferential surface of the winding body 50, and each drawingwalls 56 a and 56 b is curved in a circular arc shape such that theinterval therebetween broadens out as it goes to the rear side. Further,the front end of the one drawing wall 56 a is formed integrally with thepressing piece 55. A recess 50 a, which is backwardly recessed, isformed on the center portion of the front end of the winding body 50,and a knob 58 linked between the upper edge and the lower edge of therecess 50 a is formed integrally with the winding body 50. Further, theknob 58 forwardly protrudes more than the front end of the winding body50. In the lower side portion of the front end surface of the windingbody 50 hooking recesses 59,59 to which a claw (not shown) being formedon the inner side surface of the retainer 6 to be described below ishooked are formed on both the left and right sides of the winding body50.

In the outer circumferential surface of the winding body 50, a portionlocated closer to the front side than the flange 52 constitutes a cladretainer. The optical fiber cable of which the clad is not peeled-off isinserted into the clad retainer, and the clad is inserted and maintainedbetween the protrusion piece 53 protruded from the flange 52 and theouter circumferential surface of the winding body 50, so that the cladof the optical fiber cable is fixed. Core wire of the optical fibercable of which the clad is peeled-off is introduced to the winding body50 (winding part) side between the flanges 51 and 52 through theinterval between the flange 52 and the drawing wall 56 a or 56 b, thecore wire is wound around the winding body 50, and the core wire of theoptical fiber cable is drawn through a drawing groove 57 between thefront portions of the drawing walls 56 a and 56 b to the outside of thewinder 5. Such a winding working is performed while gripping the knob 58formed on the front surface of the winding body 50 by hand. The outercircumferential surface of the winding body 50 has the radius ofcurvature larger than the permitted minimum radius of curvature in whichthe signal transmitting characteristic of the wound optical fiber cable(for example, the optical fiber cable made of glass fiber) does notdeteriorate so as not to affect the signal transmitting characteristicsof the wound optical fiber cable. Further, an inner circumferentialsurface of the corner of the drawing walls 56 a and 56 b which islocated at both sides of the drawing groove 57 also is comprised of anR-curved surface having the radius of curvature larger than thepermitted minimum radius of curvature of the wound optical fiber cableso as not to affect the signal transmission characteristics of theoptical fiber cable drawn along the drawing walls 56 a and 56 b. Thesurfaces of the winding body 50, the flanges 51 and 52 and the drawingwalls 56 a and 56 b are preferably made to a slidable surface by asoldering, glazing, etc., such that the clad or core wire of the woundoptical fiber cable can be rotated thereon to decrease tensile force.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the retainer 6 which receives thewinder 5 and is detachably attached to the plug receptacle main body 1is made of a synthetic-resin molded body, and comprises a housing 60which is a hollow member whose lower opening is blocked by a bottomwall. The front and rear side walls 61 a and 61 b of the housing 60 isconfigured such that a semi-circular part protrudes from a bottom sideof a rectangular shape horizontally extending, and side walls 61 a and61 b are connected to each other by a peripheral wall 61 c erected fromperipheral edges except the top side. The space surrounded by thesidewalls 61 a and 61 b and the peripheral wall 61 c serves as areceiving portion 62 for receiving the winder 5. A guide groove 63 whichis opened toward the top side is formed on the front side wall 61 a ofthe housing 60 in the vertical direction, and the knob 58 forwardlyprotruding from the front surface of the winding body 50 is insertedinto the guide groove 63, so that the winder 5 is inserted into thereceiving portion 62 while being guided. Protruding die 64 protrudingfrom the intermediate position in the left-right direction toward thefront side is formed on the front surface side of the sidewall 61 a.Hooking piece 64 a which is hooked to the holding groove 17 a of theplug receptacle main body 1 protrudes from the both left and right sidesof the lower front end of the protruding die 64 in side directions,respectively, and hooking protrusion 64 b which is hooked to a hookingrecess 17 b formed concavely on the surface of the supporting groove 17a protrudes from the rear surface of each hooking piece 64 a. Further,protruding pieces 65 a and 65 b protruding from both the left and rightedges toward the front side are integrally formed on the upper front endof the protruding die 64, and both the protruding pieces 65 a and 65 bare formed up to the height of the drawing walls 56 a and 56 b formed inthe winder 5 when the winder 5 is received in the receiving portion 62.Further, the section of both protruding piece 65 a and 65 b is formed ina circular arc shape such that, in the interval between both theprotruding pieces 65 a and 65 b, the interval at the rear end is nearlyequal to the width of the front end of the drawing groove 57, and theinterval broadens out as it goes to the front side. The one (left)protruding piece 65 a protrudes more than the other (right) protrudingpiece 65 b up to the front side. On the opposing surfaces of both theprotruding pieces 65 a and 65 b, a bottom wall 65 c is formed to connectbetween the opposing surfaces of both the protruding pieces 65 a and 65b. When the winder 5 is received in the receiving portion 62, the bottomwall 65 c is continued to the bottom surface of the drawing groove 57formed on the winder 5. A pressing piece 66 parallel with the bottomwall 65 c extends from the front side portion of the top end of the oneprotruding piece 65 a, and a hooking portion 66 a downwardly protrudingis formed integrally with the leading end of the pressing piece 66. Thespace surrounded by the protruding pieces 65 a and 65 b and the bottomwall 65 c becomes the guiding groove 65.

Here, the interval of the peripheral wall 61 c in the left-rightdirection is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the flange 51 ofthe winder 5, the retainer 6 is made to a small-sized unit, and theoptical fiber cable wound on the received winder 5 is regulated not toincrease more than necessary while the permitted minimum radius ofcurvature thereof being maintained when the winding diameter of thecable increases due to the outward elastic force. A stepped portion 61 dwhich is coupled to the lower-side semicircle portion of the flange 51formed in the winder 5 is formed on the inner surface of the side wall61 b, the lower semicircle portion of the flange 51 contacts the steppedportion 61 d, and the lower end of the knob 58 contacts the lower end ofthe guide groove 63, so that it is possible to secure a receiving space67 for the core wire of the optical fiber cable between the winder 5 andthe lower portion of the receiving portion 62 when the winder 5 isreceived in the receiving portion 62 (refer to FIG. 6). Therefore, it ispossible to receive the remaining portion of the core wire in thereceiving space 67 to shorten the remaining portion of the core wireprotruding to the outside of the winder 5. As a result, it is possibleto reliably protect the core wire of the optical fiber cable.

The decoration cover 7 is made of a synthetic-resin molded body in whicha rectangular frame-shaped front portion 70 having a verticallyelongated aperture 71 into which the front end portion of the plugreceptacle main body 1 is inserted and a side portion 72 backwardlyprotruding from the peripheral edge of the front portion 70 areintegrally formed. On the rear surface of the front portion 70, twoelastic hooking pieces 73 which is hooked to the hooking recess 12 c ofthe plug receptacle main body 1 are formed at each of the upper and thelower edges of the aperture 71. A plurality of protrusions 74 contactingthe front end surface of side pieces 83 of the mounting frame 8 to bedescribed below protrudes from each rear edge of the side portion 72with a predetermined interval from each other.

The mounting frame 8 is formed in a shape of a rectangular frame inwhich opening 81 with the same dimensions as that of a mounting framefor big square type interchangeable wiring device is formed at thecenter thereof. In each side piece 82 disposed oppositely from eachother in the longitudinal direction, an elongated hole 84 into which abox screw for attaching the mounting frame 8 to a flush box (not shown)is inserted, attachment holes 85 to which inserting members (not shown)conventionally known are inserted for attaching the mounting frame 8 toa structural element of walls such as a gypsum board, and a tapped hole86 for plate screw for attaching a plate frame (not shown) etc. to thefront surface are at least formed. Further, contact pieces 87,87forwardly protruding to contact the upper and lower sidewalls 11 b and11 c of the plug receptacle main body 1 are formed at side edges of theside pieces 82,82, which face the aperture 81. On the other hand, eachside piece 83,83 opposing each other in the width direction of themounting frame 8 is bent at a nearly right angle toward the rear side,and front ends portions of the side pieces 83,83 are outwardly bent inthe left-right direction at a nearly right angle. Further, on the rearedges of the side pieces 83,83, two hooking frame pieces 88 having ‘U’shape which are hooked to the hooking protrusions 12 a of the plugreceptacle main body 1 are integrally formed at each of the upper andlower sides.

Hereinafter, a method of assembling the wiring device for optical fiberaccording to the present invention will be described in detail.

First, in the receiving portion surrounded by the first covering portion20 and the second covering portions 21,21 of the cover 2, the receptacleis inserted after the direction of the housing 30 is aligned to contactthe front surface of the housing 30 with the ribs 23 protruding from therear surface of the first covering portion 20. At this time, the stepportions 23 a of the ribs 23 contact the stepped portion of the housing30, and the ribs 23 b extending toward the rear side from the lower-sideportion of the ribs 23 contact the front surface of the lower-sideportion of the housing 30, so that the housing 30 is located in thecover 2. At this state, the contact piece 40 of the pressing plate 4 iscontacted to the upper rear surface of the housing 30, and the contactpieces 42 a is contacted to the lower rear surface of the housing 30.Then, the screw 24 passed through the penetrated hole 21 b of the legpiece 21 c is inserted into the tapped hole 43 formed in the supportingpiece 41 of the pressing plate 4 to fix the pressing plate 4 to thecover 2, so that the receptacle 3 is placed between the pressing plate 4and the cover 2 (refer to FIGS. 8 b and 8 d). At this time, since theleading ends of the supporting pieces 41 of the pressing plate 4 arelocated at the rear-side portion than the portion from which theengagement claws 21 a of the covering portion (comprised of the secondcovering portions 21 and the leg pieces 21 c) protrude, the forceinwardly pressing the covering portion can be received by the supportingpieces 41 of the pressing piece made of metal material.

Next, at the time of combining the plug receptacle main body 1 with thecover 2, the center piece of the center portion 9 a of the spring member9 is hooked to the lower portion of the bearing unit 13 of the plugreceptacle main body 1, and both twisted portion 9 b, 9 b of the springmember 9 is inserted into the recess (not shown) formed on both ends ofthe bearing unit recess 13 a to communicate both end of the bearing unitrecess 13 a with opened holes of the twisted portions 9 b, 9 b. Next,the cover 2 is disposed at the front side of the plug receptacle mainbody 1 so as to interpose the bearing unit 13 between the shaftsupporting portions 22,22 of the cover 2, and the rotation shaft 10 isinserted into the shaft hole lie formed in the one side wall 11 a, theshaft hole 22 a of the one shaft supporting portion 22, the opened holeof the one twisted portion 9 b, the bearing recess 13 a of the bearingunit 13, the opened hole of the other twisted portion 9 b, the shafthole 22 a of the other shaft supporting portion 22 and the shaft hole 11e of the other side wall 11 a in this order. Here, in the rotation shaft10, the diameter thereof from the one end of the inserting side to theportion near to the other end is slightly smaller than the innerdiameter of the shaft holes lie and 22 a and the bearing recess 13 a, sothat the rotation shaft 10 can be inserted. However, the diameter of theother end 10 a is larger than the inner diameter of the shaft hole 11 eand a knurling treatment is performed on the outer surface of therotation shaft 10. Therefore, when the other end 10 a is finally pressedinto the shaft hole 11 e, the rotation shaft 10 is fixed to the plugreceptacle main body 1. At this time, each extension part 9 c, 9 cextending from the twisted portions 9 b, 9 b of the spring memberelastically contacts the rear surface of the first covering portion 20of cover 2, so that biasing force for rotating the cover 2 from thefront part of the plug receptacle main body 1 in the forwardlyprojecting direction is applied to the cover 2. Specifically, the upperend portion of the cover 2 is rotatably supported to the plug receptaclemain body 1 about the rotation shaft 10, and biasing force for rotatingthe lower end portion of the cover 2 from the front part of the plugreceptacle main body 1 in the forwardly projecting direction about therotation shaft 10 is applied to the cover 2 by the spring member 9.

As described above, the receptacle is mounted on the cover and the cover2 is attached to the plug receptacle main body 1 to complete theassembling of the wiring device for optical fiber. FIGS. 3A to 3D, 4Band 6 illustrate a state in which the cover 2 is rotated to the frontpart of the plug receptacle main body 1 against the biasing force of thespring member 9, and the leading end of the hooking protrusion piece 25formed at the lower end portion of the cover 2 is hooked to the hookinghole 15 d by elastic force of the flexible piece 15. At this time, thefront surface of the first covering portion of the cover 2 is nearlyflush with the front surface of the plug receptacle main body 1, thereceptacle 3 attached to the rear surface of the first covering portion20 is received in the plug receptacle main body 1 in a received state(this state is a non-used state) . At this time, the inclined surfacesof the rear edges of the second covering portions 21,21 of the cover 2contact the front end surfaces of the ribs 16 a, 16 a formed on theinner surfaces of the side walls 11 a, 11 a of the plug receptacle mainbody 1, so that the backward movement of the cover 2 is restricted(refer to FIGS. 10A and 10B).

At this non-used state, when an operating portion 15 e of the flexiblepiece 15 exposed toward the front side of the plug receptacle main body1 is pressed down, the flexible piece 15 is downwardly bent, and theleading end of the hooking protrusion piece 25 is detached from thehooking hole 15 d, so that biasing force of the spring member 9 isapplied to the cover 2 to rotate about the rotation shaft 10 in aclockwise direction in FIG. 6. When the lower end of the cover 2 isforwardly rotated, each engagement claw 21 a formed on the secondcovering portions 21,21 of cover 2 is hooked to the rear end portion ofthe ribs 16 b formed on inner side surfaces of the left and right sidewalls 11 a, 11 a of the plug receptacle main body 1, so that the forwardrotation of the cover 2 is regulated and the cover 2 is forwardlyprojected from the front part of the plug receptacle main body 1 suchthat the first covering portion 20 is downwardly inclined, the plugconnection hole of the receptacle 3 downwardly faces the outside betweenthe lower end portion of the first covering portion 20 and the frontside of the plug receptacle main body 1. This state is a use state inwhich the plug connection is performed. At this state, the hookingprotrusion piece 44 of the pressing plate 4 mounted on the cover 2 ishooked into the hooking hole 15 d of the flexible piece 15, and thehooking protrusion piece 44 is hooked to the rear edge of the hookinghole 15 d, so that the backward rotation of the cover 2 is restrictedand the cover 2 is maintained at a state in which the cover is forwardlyprojected (refer to FIGS. 7A to 7C and 11).

As described above, the receptacle 3 is interposed and held between thepressing plate 4 and the rear surface of the cover 2. In the pressingplate 4, the hooking protrusion piece 44 (hooking part) which is hookedinto the hooking hole 15 d (hooked part) of the plug receptacle mainbody 1 is formed, and the hooking protrusion piece 44 of the metallicpressing plate 4 is hooked into the hooking hole 15 d at the projectedstate, so that the projected state of the cover 2 is maintained.Therefore, when the second optical fiber plug is connected to the plugconnection hole of the receptacle 3 from the outside, the position ofthe plug connection hole (that is, the receptacle 3) does not easilychanged, which makes the plug connecting work easy. Further, at a statein which the second optical fiber plug is connected to the plugconnection hole, even though force for backwardly biasing the cover 2 isapplied, the cover 2 does not close, so that it is possible to preventthe second optical fiber plug from being damaged due to the undesirablestate in which the cover 2 is closed and the second optical fiber plugis interposed between the cover 2 and the plug receptacle main body 1.The leading end of the supporting piece 41 of the pressing plate 4 islocated at the rear-side position than the portion of the coveringportion (comprised of the second covering portions 21 and the leg pieces21 c) from which each engagement claw 21 a protrudes, and force inwardlypressing the covering portion is received by the supporting pieces 41serving as a reinforcing member, so that the cover 2 is not easilydeformed although external force is applied to the cover 2 in theleft-right direction, and the engagement state between the engagementclaws 21 a and the ribs 16 b does not release. Therefore, it is possibleto stably maintain the projection state of the cover 2. The pressingplate 4 is made of metal material, however, the material for thepressing plate 4 is not limited thereto. The pressing plate 4 may bemade of a resin-molded body. In the present embodiment, the pressingplate 4 is made of metal material, so that the strength of the pressingplate 4 is enhanced compared to the case in which the pressing plate 4is made of synthetic resin. Since the hooking protrusion piece 44 andthe hooking hole 15 d is reliably connected, and the portion of thecovering portion in which the engagement claws 21 a are formed isreliably supported, it is possible to stably maintain the protrusionstate of the cover.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10B, in the engagement claws 21 a of the cover2, each surface which contacts the ribs 16 b is configured such that itforwardly protrudes as it goes to the outer side. In the rib 16 b (clawto be engaged) of the plug receptacle main body 1, each surface, whichcontacts the engagement claw 21 a, is configured such that it backwardlyprotrudes as it goes to the inner side. Each contact surface between theengagement claws 21 a and the ribs 16 b is formed as an inclined surfacewhich is inclined in the engagement direction such that the engagementclaws 21 a and the ribs 16 b are engaged with each other when the cover2 forwardly moves. Therefore, at the projected state of the cover 2,even though external power for forwardly moving the cover 2 is appliedthereto, since the engagement state between the engagement claws 21 aand the ribs 16 b is hardly released by engaging the engagement claw 21and the rib 16 b each other, it is possible to reliably maintain theprojected state of the cover 2.

On the other hand, at the used state described above, when an operatingportion 15 e of the flexible piece 15 exposed toward the front side ofthe plug receptacle main body 1 is pressed down to downwardly bend theflexible piece 15, the leading end of the hooking protrusion piece 44 ofthe pressing plate 4 is detached from the hooking hole 15 d. At thestate in which the engagement between the hooking protrusion piece 44and the hooking hole 15 d is released, when the lower-side portion ofthe cover 2 is backwardly pressed (pressed to the front part of the plugreceptacle main body 1) against the biasing force of the spring member9, and the cover 2 is rotated about the rotation shaft 10 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 7B, the rear ends of the second coveringportions 21 of the cover 2 contact the front end of the ribs 16 a formedon the side walls 11 a of the plug receptacle main body 1. Therefore,the backward rotation of the cover 2 is regulated. Further, the frontend of the hooking protrusion piece 25 formed at the lower end of thecover 2 is hooked into the hooking hole 15 d by the elastic force of theflexible piece 15, so that the front surface of the first coveringportion 20 of the cover 2 is nearly flush with the front surface of theplug receptacle main body 1, and the receptacle 3 attached to the rearside of the first covering portion 20 is received in the plug receptaclemain body 1 in received state.

Here, the flexible piece 15 having the operating portion 15 e and thehooking protrusion piece 25 of cover 2 constitute retaining means forretaining the received state. This retaining means and the spring member9 serving as pressing means for pressing the cover 2 to the front sideconstitute a pop-up mechanism for popping-up the cover 2 and thereceptacle 3. In the present embodiment, since the receptacle 3 isattached to the cover 2 that is rotatably supported to the plugreceptacle main body 1, at a non-used state, the receptacle 3 isreceived in the plug receptacle main body 1. Therefore, the receptacle 3is not obstructed. Further, at a used state, the receptacle 3 isprojected to the front side. Therefore, it is easy to connect the plugfor optical fiber to the plug connection hole of the receptacle from theoutside of a building. Further, since the received state of thereceptacle is retained by the retaining means of the pop-up mechanism,and the receptacle 3 can be projected to the front side by the pressingmeans when the retaining by the retaining means is released, it ispossible to easily receive and retain the receptacle 3 in the plugreceptacle main body 1 and to easily draw the receptacle 3 to theoutside of the plug receptacle main body 1. FIGS. 4A and 4B are externalperspective views of the wiring device for optical fiber at the usedstate and at the non-used state, respectively. FIG. 5 is an externalperspective view of the wiring device for optical fiber as seen form therear side.

Hereinafter, a construction method of mounting the wiring device foroptical fiber according to the present embodiment on a mounting hole ofa flush box (not shown) buried in the wall such as a wall panel or aconcrete wall which is opened in the outer surface of a building, willbe described.

First, the front part of the plug receptacle main body 1 is insertedinto the aperture 81 of the mounting frame 8 from the rear side, the twohooking frame pieces 88 protruding from each of the rear edges of theside pieces 83,83 of the mounting frame 8 are inserted into the hookingprotrusions 12 a formed on outer side surfaces of the side walls 11 a,11 a of the plug receptacle main body 1, and the rear-side piece of thehooking frame piece 88 is elastically deformed to be hooked at therecess 12 b formed at the rear edge of the hooking protrusion 12 a,thereby the plug receptacle main body 1 is fixed to the mounting frame 8(refer to FIGS. 8A and 8C).

Next, the first plug 103 for optical fiber disposed at the leading endof the core wire 102 exposed by peeling off the clad of the opticalfiber cable is introduced into the plug receptacle main body 1 throughthe notch 14 formed at the upper side wall 11 b of the plug receptaclemain body 1 (refer to FIG. 8B). Here, the optical fiber is wired to theinside of the building (in case of the wall panel, in the wall at therear side of the wall panel, and in case of the concrete wall, in theconcrete wall) and is introduced into the flush box buried in the wall.Then, the first plug 103 is inserted into the opened first plugconnection portion of the receptacle that is maintained by the cover 2and is connected to the receptacle 3. Here, since the receptacle 3 isattached to the cover 2 such that the first plug 103 for optical fiberis obliquely and downwardly inserted from the upper side to the lowerleft position in FIG. 8B, and the notch 14 for inserting the first plug103 for optical fiber is formed in the upper side wall 11 b of the plugreceptacle main body 1 located in insertion direction of the first plug103 for optical fiber, so that the first plug 103 for optical fiber canbe inserted into the receptacle 3 through the notch 14. And, by thisconstruction, the plug insertion operation is not obstructed by thesidewall 11 b of the plug receptacle main body 1, so that it is possibleto easily perform the insertion operation. Therefore, the operabilitythereof is enhanced. Further, the receptacle 3 is attached to the cover2 at a state in which the insertion hole of the plug connection portionis backwardly inclined with respect to the front surface of the plugreceptacle main body 1, so that the first plug 103 for optical fiber canbe inserted obliquely and downwardly with respect to the receptacle 3from the upper side thereof as shown in FIG. 8B. Therefore, theinsertion of the first plug 103 for optical fiber is further easilyperformed.

As described above, after the first plug 103 for optical fiber isconnected to the receptacle 3, the retainer 6 is attached to the rearpart 11 d of the plug receptacle main body 1, and the core wire 102 ofoptical fiber attached to the first plug 103 for optical fiber isinserted into a guide groove 65 through the lower part of the pressingpiece 66 of the retainer 6 and is backwardly drawn from the rear end ofthe guide groove 65. In the attachment of the retainer 6, each hookingpieces 64 a formed on the front surface of the retainer 6 is hooked toeach of holding grooves 17 a of the supporting portions 17 integrallyformed on the rear left and right sides of the rear part 11 d from thelower ends of the holding grooves 17 a, and the hooking protrusion 64 bformed on the rear surface of the hooking piece 64 a is hooked to thehooking recesses 17 b formed on opposing surfaces in the supportinggrooves 17 a, so that the hooked state of the hooking pieces 64 a isretained and the retainer 6 is attached to the rear part 11 d of theplug receptacle main body 1.

In the winding process of winding the optical fiber cable backwardlydrawn from the guide groove 65 of the retainer 6 to the winder, leadingend (end portion of peeled out clad) of the clad of the optical fibercable is maintained between the outer circumferential surface of thewinding body 50 and the protruding pieces 53,53 (the clad retainingportion), the core wire 102 of the optical fiber is introduced to thewinding part between the flange 51 and the flange 52 through an intervalbetween the protruding piece 53 and the drawing wall 56 a or 56 b, andthe core wire 102 of the optical fiber is wound on the winding part.This winding process is performed while the knob 58 formed on the frontsurface of the winding body 50 is gripped by hand.

When the remaining length of the core wire 102 of the optical fiber isshort, after core wire 102 of the optical fiber is drawn from theinterval between the protruding piece 54 and the pressing piece 55 tothe outside through the drawing groove 57, the winder 5 is inserted intothe receiving portion 62 of the retainer 6 and is maintained in theretainer 6 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Further, when the winder 5 isinserted, the knob 58 is guided by interlocking with the guide groove 63formed in the side wall 61 a of the retainer 6, so that the winder 5 canbe easily inserted in the retainer 6, and the winder 5 can be receivedand maintained in the receiving portion 62 in the normal direction.Further, the winder 5 is received and maintained in the normaldirection, so that the front end of the drawing groove 57 and the rearend of the guide groove 65 of the retainer 6 are communicated with eachother, thereby the drawing groove 57 and the guide groove 65 constitutea guide path guiding the core wire 102 of the optical fiber. Further,when the winder 5 is inserted until the lower edge of the winding body50 in the receiving portion 62 contacts the stepped portion 61 d of theinner surface of the side wall 61 b, the hooking recess 59 formed on thefront end surface of the winding body 50 is hooked to a hookingprotrusion (not shown) formed on the side wall 61 a, so that the winder5 is prevented from being pulled out. Further, when the hookingprotrusion of the sidewall 61 a is hooked to the hooking recess 59, thehooking process is easily performed by the elasticity of the sidewall 61a and the tapered surface formed at the lower side of the hooking recess59.

Further, after the winder 5 is maintained in the retainer 6 attached tothe plug receptacle main body 1, the retainer 6, the rear part of theplug receptacle main body 1, and the remaining portion of the clad ofthe optical fiber cable is received in the flush box 91, and anattaching screw (not shown) are fixed to tapped holes (not shown) of theflush box using elongated holes 84 formed in the upper and lower framepieces 82 of the mounting frame 8. Then, the elastic hooking pieces 73of the decoration cover 7 are hooked to the hooking recesses 12 c of theplug receptacle main body 1 to attach the decoration cover 7 to thefront surface side of the plug receptacle main body 1, then a decorationplate (not shown) is attached to the front surface side of the mountingframe 8 by a engagement claw or a screw. By this decoration plate, theattaching holes and the mounting frame 8 are covered, and front portionsof the plug receptacle main body 1 and decoration cover 7 are outwardlyexposed from an opening of the decoration plate, thereby theconstruction is finished.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a notch for inserting theoptical fiber plug is formed at a portion of the plug receptacle mainbody which is located in the inserting direction of the optical fiberplug inserted into and connected to the plug connection portion, so thatit is possible to insert the optical fiber plug in the receptacle foroptical fiber through the notch, and the insertion operation of theoptical fiber plug can be easily performed, which enhances theworkability.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the receptacle foroptical fiber is attached to the plug receptacle main body, with aninsertion hole of the plug connection portion being backwardly inclinedwith respect to the front surface of the plug receptacle main body, sothat it is easy to insert an optical fiber plug attached to the opticalfiber which is wired in the rear surface side of a building into theplug connection portion.

According to a third aspect of the invention, since the receptacle foroptical fiber is attached to a rotatable retainer which is rotatablysupported to the plug receptacle main body, so that at non-used state,the receptacle for optical fiber is received in the plug receptacle mainbody without any obstruction, and at the used state, the receptacle foroptical fiber is projected, thereby an optical fiber plug can be easilyconnected to a plug connection hole of receptacle for optical fiber fromthe outer surface side of a building. Further, since the rotatableretainer can be retained in a received state by retaining means of apop-up mechanism and the rotatable retainer for optical can be projectedto the front side by a pressing means when the maintenance by theretaining means is released, so that the receptacle for optical fibercan be easily received and maintained in the plug receptacle main body,or can be easily projected to the outside of the plug receptacle mainbody.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, at a projected state,since a hooking portion of a pressing plate attached to the rotatableretainer is hooked to a hooked portion of the plug receptacle main bodyand the projected state is maintained, when an optical fiber plug isconnected to a plug connection hole from the outer surface side of abuilding, the position of the plug connection hole is hardly changed.Therefore, the connecting operation of the plug can be easily performed.Further, while the optical fiber plug is connected to the plugconnection hole, although force biasing the rotatable retainer to therear side is applied thereto, the rotatable retainer is not closed andit is possible to prevent the optical fiber plug connected to the plugconnection hole from being sandwiched between the rotatable retainer andthe plug receptacle main body and being damaged.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the pressing member ismade of a metal material, so that the projected state of the rotatableretainer can be reliably maintained.

According to a six aspect of the invention, a reinforcing membercontacts the rear-side portions of second covering portions in whichengagement claws are formed, so that the reinforcing member supports thesecond covering portions. Therefore, even though external force isapplied to the rotatable retainer in the left-right direction, therotatable retainer is hardly deformed, and the engagement state betweenthe engagement claws and the claws to be engaged is hardly released.Thus, the projected state of the rotatable retainer can be reliablyretained.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, the reinforcing memberis made of a metal material, so that the reinforcing member can endureagainst high force. Therefore, the projected state can be more reliablyretained.

According to a eighth aspect of the invention, contact surfaces betweenthe engagement claws provided at the covering portions and the clawsformed in the plug receptacle main body to be engaged with theengagement claws are inclined in the direction engaged each other at thetime of the forward movement of the rotatable retainer. Therefore, atthe protruded state, even though external force moving the rotatableretainer toward the front side is applied, the engagement claws andclaws to be engaged is engaged each other, thereby the engagement stateof the engagement claws and claws to be engaged is hardly released.Thus, the projected state of the rotatable retainer is more reliablymaintained.

Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, the present invention is not limited to the above exemplaryembodiments, but may be modified in various forms without departing fromthe scope of the appended claims, the detailed description, and theaccompanying drawings of the present invention. Therefore, it is naturalthat such modifications belong to the scope of the present invention.

The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in JapaneseApplication No. 2004-045299, filed on Feb. 20, 2004, the contents ofwhich are herein expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.

1. Wiring device for optical fiber, the wiring device comprising: a plugreceptacle main body which is mounted on a mounting opening opened inthe outer surface of a building; and a receptacle for optical fiberattached to the plug receptacle main body and having a plug connectionhole facing an outer surface side of the building at least at a usedstate and a plug connection portion into which a first optical-fiberplug attached to the optical fiber cable wired to the inside of abuilding is inserted and connected, and optically connecting the firstoptical-fiber plug connected to the plug connection portion and thesecond optical-fiber plug inserted from the outer surface side of thebuilding through the plug connection hole, wherein a notch for insertingthe first optical fiber plug is formed at a portion of the plugreceptacle main body which is located in the inserting direction of thefirst optical fiber plug inserted and connected to the plug connectionportion.
 2. The wiring device for optical fiber of claim 1, wherein thereceptacle for optical fiber is attached to the plug receptacle mainbody, with an insertion hole of the plug connection portion beingbackwardly inclined with respect to the front surface of the plugreceptacle main body.
 3. The wiring device for optical fiber of claim 1,further comprising: a rotatable retainer to which the receptacle foroptical fiber is attached at the rear surface side thereof and rotatablysupported to the plug receptacle main body so as to keep in either of aprojected state forwardly projecting from the front part of the plugreceptacle main body to face the plug connection hole toward the outsideof a building or a received state in which the plug connection hole isreceived in the plug receptacle main body; and a pop-up mechanismincluding pressing means for pressing the rotatable retainer to thefront side of the plug receptacle main body and retaining means forretaining the received state, and projecting the rotatable retainer tothe front side of the plug receptacle main body by the pressing force ofthe pressing means when the retaining by the retaining means isreleased.
 4. The wiring device for optical fiber of claim 3, wherein apressing member for interposing and retaining the receptacle for opticalfiber between the rear surface of the rotatable retainer and thepressing member is attached to the rotatable retainer, and a hookingportion hooked to a hooked portion disposed at the plug receptacle mainbody at the projected state is provided to the pressing member.
 5. Thewiring device for optical fiber of claim 4, wherein the pressing memberis made of a metal material.
 6. The wiring device for optical fiber ofclaim 3, wherein the rotatable retainer includes a first coveringportion to which the receptacle for optical fiber is attached at therear surface side thereof and whose one end is rotatably supported tothe plug receptacle main body, and second covering portions beingprotruded from the rear side of the first covering portion and eachcovering both the left and right sides of the receptacle for opticalfiber, the rotatable retainer further including: an engagement claws,which is formed on the out-side surfaces of the second coveringportions, regulating the forward movement of the first covering portionon engaging with claws formed in the plug receptacle main body at theprojected state; and a reinforcing member contacting the rear sideportions of the second covering portions and supporting the secondcovering portions.
 7. The wiring device for optical fiber of claim 6,wherein the reinforcing member is made of a metallic material.
 8. Thewiring device for optical fiber of claim 3, wherein the rotatableretainer includes a first covering portion to which the receptacle foroptical fiber is attached at the rear surface side thereof and whose oneend is rotatably supported to the plug receptacle main body, and secondcovering portions being protruded from the rear side of the firstcovering portion and each covering both the left and right sides of thereceptacle for optical fiber, the rotatable retainer further including:an engagement claws, which is formed on the out-side surfaces of thesecond covering portions, regulating the forward movement of the firstcovering portion on engaging with claws formed in the plug receptaclemain body at the projected state; and contact surfaces between theengagement claws and the claws formed in the plug receptacle main bodyto be engaged with the engagement claw are inclined in the directionengaged each other at the time of moving forwardly the rotatableretainer.
 9. The wiring device for optical fiber of claim 4, wherein therotatable retainer includes a first covering portion to which thereceptacle for optical fiber is attached at the rear surface sidethereof and whose one end is rotatably supported to the plug receptaclemain body, and second covering portions being protruded from the rearside of the first covering portion and each covering both the left andright sides of the receptacle for optical fiber, the rotatable retainerfurther including: an engagement claws, which is formed on the out-sidesurfaces of the second covering portions, regulating the forwardmovement of the first covering portion on engaging with claws formed inthe plug receptacle main body at the projected state; and a reinforcingmember contacting the rear side portions of the second covering portionsand supporting the second covering portions.
 10. The wiring device foroptical fiber of claim 5, wherein the rotatable retainer includes afirst covering portion to which the receptacle for optical fiber isattached at the rear surface side thereof and whose one end is rotatablysupported to the plug receptacle main body, and second covering portionsbeing protruded from the rear side of the first covering portion andeach covering both the left and right sides of the receptacle foroptical fiber, the rotatable retainer further including: an engagementclaws, which is formed on the out-side surfaces of the second coveringportions, regulating the forward movement of the first covering portionon engaging with claws formed in the plug receptacle main body at theprojected state; and a reinforcing member contacting the rear sideportions of the second covering portions and supporting the secondcovering portions.
 11. The wiring device for optical fiber of claim 9,wherein the reinforcing member is made of a metallic material.
 12. Thewiring device for optical fiber of claim 10, wherein the reinforcingmember is made of a metallic material.
 13. The wiring device for opticalfiber of claim 4, wherein the rotatable retainer includes a firstcovering portion to which the receptacle for optical fiber is attachedat the rear surface side thereof and whose one end is rotatablysupported to the plug receptacle main body, and second covering portionsbeing protruded from the rear side of the first covering portion andeach covering both the left and right sides of the receptacle foroptical fiber, the rotatable retainer further including: an engagementclaws, which is formed on the out-side surfaces of the second coveringportions, regulating the forward movement of the first covering portionon engaging with claws formed in the plug receptacle main body at theprojected state; and contact surfaces between the engagement claws andthe claws formed in the plug receptacle main body to be engaged with theengagement claw are inclined in the direction engaged each other at thetime of moving forwardly the rotatable retainer.
 14. The wiring devicefor optical fiber of claim 5, wherein the rotatable retainer includes afirst covering portion to which the receptacle for optical fiber isattached at the rear surface side thereof and whose one end is rotatablysupported to the plug receptacle main body, and second covering portionsbeing protruded from the rear side of the first covering portion andeach covering both the left and right sides of the receptacle foroptical fiber, the rotatable retainer further including: an engagementclaws, which is formed on the out-side surfaces of the second coveringportions, regulating the forward movement of the first covering portionon engaging with claws formed in the plug receptacle main body at theprojected state; and contact surfaces between the engagement claws andthe claws formed in the plug receptacle main body to be engaged with theengagement claw are inclined in the direction engaged each other at thetime of moving forwardly the rotatable retainer.